After reading Lookout Eugene-Springfield’s recent article on air quality in the region, I wish to suggest an important addition to the conversation. The article described wildfire smoke as a major driver of our “F” grade from the American Lung Association. While that is true, it fails to mention another major reason our air quality is so poor: Eugene does not require emissions testing of cars through the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

Recently, thousands of runners descended on our city for the Eugene Marathon. We pride ourselves on being “TrackTown USA” — a community of athletes and environmentalists — but that image doesn’t mesh with the reality of the air we’re breathing.

I recently moved back to the area after living in Portland for the past 10 years and was immediately struck by the smog, especially along West 11th Avenue. We live in a valley basin known for atmospheric inversions where the air stays stagnant. Given that we have some of the worst air in the country, it’s baffling that nobody has stepped up to require emissions testing here.

Currently, only Portland and the Medford-Ashland area require testing because they were historically designated as “non-attainment areas” (places where air quality didn’t meet federal standards). Although we have an F grade from the American Lung Association and we are second worst in the nation for short-term particle pollution, that doesn’t automatically trigger federal “non-attainment” status.

We are classified as a “maintenance area,” which is essentially a legal loophole that allows the state to ignore our current air crisis because the worst days are blamed on “natural” wildfires. But the smog I see on my commute isn’t a natural event; it’s a policy choice.

We can’t do much to curb wildfires, but we can fix the pollution coming from our own vehicles. If we want to keep calling ourselves a world-class running destination, we need to start protecting the lungs of the people running our streets.

Dr. Liz Gilkey
Eugene